Highway to Hell
by whoopsidaisies
Summary: Basically my take on why Paige said she needed space from Emily.


**Author's note: This is basically my interpretation why Paige said she needed space from Emily. It's quite farfetched and unrealistic but then so is everything else on PLL so this should fit right in. I am too tired to check for spelling and grammatical mistakes so if you find any, kindly ignore them. This is a one-shot. So read and review. Enjoy!**

* * *

It's been three years since she left Rosewood. Three years since she left behind the only home she ever knew. Three years since she left behind the love of her life. Driving the Impala, with Sam riding shotgun and Dean dozing off in the backseat, Paige can't help but think back to the chain of events that led her to meet her half brothers.

* * *

After moving to Stanford less than six months ago, the library had become her place of solitude. The pool reminded her too much of Emily. Of the times they spent together. Of the dream they could have lived together.

The library tuned out to be surprising calming substitute. Due to the amount of time she would spend there, the librarian, Miss Barlow, had become a sort of friendly acquaintance. In fact, Miss Barlow even gave Paige a spare key so that she could stay back even after she had left.

But after a while something changed. It seemed that Miss Barlow was always hovering near Paige whenever she was in the library. There were times when Paige left that she was flirting with her. She had certainly gotten more touchy-feely. Sure Miss Barlow was an attractive women but Paige always withdrew from her advances, not ready to move on from Emily.

* * *

One day, when she was on her way back from practice, she received a text from a blocked number. She instantly knew who it was from. She waited until she reached her dorm room to check the text, knowing that ignoring it wouldn't do her much good. When she opened the text, she could feel her heart shattering. It was a picture of Emily and Alison. On the former's bed. Kissing. The date and time stamp showed that it was the same day that Emily had arranged the talk between Alison and her. The same day that they had gone to the Frozen karaoke. The text below simply read: **Once a cheater, always a cheater - A**.

Paige knew that Emily wasn't exactly cheating since she and Paige weren't together when the kiss happened. But it still hurt to see Emily lip lock with the bully that her made her adolescent life a living hell. Even more so cause Emily never told her about it. The longer she stared at the photo, the more she could feel her hurt gradually change to anger. She knew she needed to vent her anger before she did something stupid. The pool wasn't a good enough option as it was late, besides it would just remind her of Emily and right now, she needed to forget about her. So she went with the next best option – running. She changed into her running gear as quickly as possible and took off.

About 30 minutes into her run, it started to rain heavily. She was too far away from her dorm and the closest shelter was an on-campus cafe which was about 10 minutes away. Suddenly, a car passed by her. Before she could contemplate whether or not to flag it down, it stopped on its own. When she walked up to the car, the passenger side window slowly rolled down. Inside was Miss Barlow.

"Hey Paige, do you need a lift?"

"Yeah, if it's not a problem that is."

"No problem at all. Hop in."

As soon as Paige git in, she turned on the heater so she could dry off.

"Thanks."

"It's okay. You look like a wet puppy. Why were you running in the rain?"

"Wasn't raining when I had started."

"Don't you have practice on Wednesdays?"

"Yeah."

"So why were you out running? Wouldn't that over strain your body?"

"I am fine. I just...I needed to get out of the dorm."

"Why? Do you not get along with your roommate?" she asked playfully.

Paige just responded with a half-hearted laugh.

"Hey...you sure you're alright?"

Before Paige could respond the car stopped. She realized that they had reached her dorm. She hurriedly unbuckled herself.

"Yeah...yeah I am fine. Thanks for the ride."

"Sure. Anytime."

As Paige was getting out of the car, she had a cold hand on her arm that made a shiver run down her spine which had nothing to do with the wet clothes now sticking to her body. When she turned around, she was met Miss Barlow's intense gaze.

"You know you can talk to me if something is bothering you. I don't know much about you, but I have felt an attraction towards you from the very first day I saw you. You're special Paige. Really special. And I would love to get to know you better."

With those words, she started to slowly lean in. Paige knew what was about to happen, but she felt paralysed. Her head kept telling her it was a bad idea, her heart kept going back to the photo she had seen. And before she knew it, she was kissing Miss Barlow.

The kiss felt wrong. It felt cold. Forced. She couldn't go on with it. As soon as she pulled away and looked at Miss Barlow, she saw her staring at her, but this time was different. Her eyes were yellow. But the moment Paige blinked; her eyes were back to normal. She wasn't sure what had just happened, but she knew she needed to get out of the car.

"Ahh...I need to go...Thanks again for the ride...Bye."

She rushed out of the car and literally ran to the room. When she reached her room, she locked the door and dropped on her bed.

 _'What was that? Did that actually happen? Am I seeing things?'_

She picked up her phone to check the time. Unlocking her phone she saw there were several texts and 4 missed calls from Emily. It immediately made her feel guilty for kissing Miss Barlow. She couldn't find it in herself to respond back.

* * *

Ever since that night Paige had tried her best to avoid going to the library as much as she used to. There were times she felt that she was being followed, but she dismissed the thought as paranoia. Stanford wasn't Rosewood. 'A' was busy torturing the girls back home. There was no reason for anyone to follow her here.

However, her paranoia became reality, when she actual someone follow her home on night. He was in the shadows, she couldn't see his face. She practically broke into a sprint in order to reach her dorm room. AS she was about to reach her dorm she was stopped by a tall man. He had brown hair, was about 5'11, he didn't look dangerous. But if Rosewood had taught her anything, it was the strangers were dangerous, whether they looked it or not.

"Paige?"

Hearing the name say her name she was instantly on the defensive.

"Who are you? How do you know me?"

He didn't respond to her immediately. He put his hand inside his jacket and looked to be pulling out something.

 _'What is he pulling out?! Is it a gun?! Who is he? Is he A's henchman? Ws he sent here to kill me?! Oh my God he is going to kill!'_

Paige's internal monologue was abruptly interrupted when she noticed that instead of a gun, he had pulled out a crumpled old photograph.

"Can you recognize anyone from this picture?"

Even though she knew she shouldn't be talking to a stranger, she couldn't help but steal a glance at the photograph. She could recognize her father right away. He looked much younger. He was probably in college. He had an arm slung around another man who seemed to be about the same age. He looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him.

"That's my dad."

"Which one?"

"What do you mean which one?"

"The blonde one. Nick McCullers."

"Do you know the other guy?"

"No. I mean I don't think so."

"You don't think so?"

"He seems familiar but I can't be sure."

"Have you ever heard of John Winchester or the Winchester family?"

 _Winchester? Paige faintly remembered having heard that name before. Was he her father's church friend? College buddy?_

"I think I may have heard of the name before."

"Paige..." She suddenly heard someone call her from behind. She instantly turned around to see the man who had been following her step out of the shadow. He was also a tall guy. Taller than the first one.

"Paige we need to talk."

"Who are you guys? I don't even know you. What would I need to talk to you about?"

"My name's Dean. Dean Winchester. The guy behind you, he's Sam, my brother. And that man in the picture, John, that's our dad."

"Okay. Good for you. I still don't see what we need to talk about."

"We are you brothers Paige. You're a Winchester."

"What?!"

"Dean! Man what is wrong with you! You can't just dump something like that on her!"

"How else were we supposed to tell her?!"

"Gently!"

"I am sorry. I am not the gentle and nurturing type. That's your shit."

"You're such a jerk!"

Paige who until now had been stunned into silence finally broke out of it.

"You guys are nuts! Stay away from me! And if I ever see you following me again I'll call the cops on you!"

"See now what you did Dean! You scared her! Paige listen, my brother is a jackass but he is telling the truth. I know it's hard to believe but just give us an hour of your time and we will explain everything to you."

Despite her earlier reluctance, she sensed that these men did not want to harm her. And even though she didn't truly believe what they were telling was truth, she felt an overwhelming curiosity to what they had to say to her.

"Just an hour Paige. We can go anywhere you want. That cafe across you campus is always packed. If it'll you feel safe to be around people then we can do that."

"No, it's okay. We can go up to my room. My roommate isn't home."

* * *

"You're a what?"

"Hunter. We are both hunters." Sam said.

"What do you hunt?"

"Ummm...we don't exactly hunt animals."

"So then..."

"Ghosts, ghouls, vampires, werewolves, demons...any and every evil creature that ever lived...you name it and we've hunted it", Dean piped up.

"Seriously dude! What part of not freaking her out do you not understand?"

"Sam she needs to know alright. And the sooner she understands, the sooner we will be able to protect her!"

"Protect me?! Why would I need protection? You're both insane! This was a bad idea. Just get out please!"

"Paige please...don't freak out...just...just look at this", Sam handed over a big brown envelope to her. "Just look at it okay. Please...that's all I'm asking."

Reluctantly Paige emptied out the contents of the envelope on her bed. There were a few documents and photos inside. One of the documents was a birth certificate. The date of birth was the same as hers but the name mentioned on it was Paige Mary Winchester. The father's name was listed as John Winchester. The other documents were adoption papers proving that Nick and Joan McCullers had indeed adopted Paige when she was about a year and a half old. The photos scattered were mostly of a baby girl, with John and a woman who looked a lot like Paige. Paige remembered asking her father why there were no pictures of her when she was born. Nick had told her that the house they had lived in before moving to Rosewood had caught on fire and they had lost the photos. She knew now that he was lying. Her entire life felt like a big lie to her now.

"Paige I know this is a lot to take in...but you – "

"Tell me everything...I need to know..."

* * *

That night Paige found out that her biological father was John Winchester who was a ghost/demon/anything evil hunter. Dean and Sam were her brother. Well half brothers. When her mother, Amy Williams, died in a car accident when she about a year old, John had asked his friend Nick to adopt his daughter. He had wanted at least one of his kids to have a normal life. One that he knew he couldn't give her. Nick and Joan were a childless couple and had immediately agreed to adopting the little girl, promising to never reveal her true origins to her.

John was now dead. He sacrificed his life and apparently his soul to save Dean. The brothers were now on a mission to not only free their father's soul from hell but also to hunt down and kill the demon that sent him there.

"So what do you want from me?"

"Paige this demon is smart. Every time we have tried to go after him, he has been one step ahead of us."

"Does he go by the name 'A'?

"What?"

"Nothing. "

"Listen Paige, there is a damn good chance that the demon knows who you are and probably will try to come after you. You're in danger and we need to protect you."

"How?"

"You need to come with us."

"What? You are you kidding? I have scholarship to one of the best schools in the country. And you want me to give that up and come with you. Why? Just you you're saying that some demon is out to get me? I am sorry guys but I can't do that. I am not just going to stop living my life cause of some supernatural shit that you've cooked up."

"But Paige..."

"No! I don't want to hear anything more. Please leave."

* * *

The next day went by with Paige feeling like she was on autopilot. Her mind was constantly going over the events of last night. Many a times she thought of calling up her dad and asking him why he hid all of this from her. But what good that do, besides they weren't exactly on the best talking terms after he forced her to move to California before finishing high school.

She thought of calling Emily, but chickened out every time. What would she say? _'Hey Em! Sorry I have been avoiding you lately cause I kissed the school librarian while I was mad at you for kissing Alison when we were on a break and then never telling me about it. Oh and by the way, my dad isn't my real dad. And my real dad was a hunter. No not animals. Evil and creepy things. Like ghosts and demons. I even have two half brothers who are also hunters. So you still want to be with me?'_ Nope. That's not going to happen.

Looking for a reprieve from her whirlwind thoughts she stayed behind after practice was over to do a few more laps, hoping against that it would help her calm down a bit. After swimming a few extra laps, she finally sat on the bleachers, staring at the soothing pool water thinking how she had hoped her life would change once she left Rosewood but somehow it's managed to turn into the same nightmare.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts, she didn't realise that she wasn't alone anymore.

"Hey...You look like you had a rough night."

Paige was startled by the voice and looked around to see Miss Barlow walking towards her.

"Yeah...umm no...I mean I am just tired...didn't get much sleep last night."

Miss Barlow sat down beside Paige and looked towards the pool. Her long hair falling to hide her face from her view.

"Yeah...I can understand...sleep doesn't come easy when your life's turned upside down."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean..." she turned to face Paige and Paige could feel her blood run cold. Staring at her were two yellow eyes and this times no matter how many times she blinked it didn't change. "I mean it's not everyday that you find out that your whole life was not what you thought it to be."

Paige in her attempt to move away fell off the bleachers and onto the tiled floor.

"Who are you?"

"Oh come on Paige! You know who I am. I am sure those nitwit brothers of yours have already warned you about me."

"What do you want from me?"

"You have no idea how long I have looked for you. The youngest of the Winchesters. Your father hid you well. But now finally I have you."

"No you don't."

Paige never thought she'd be this happy to see anyone other than Emily but she was damn near elated to see Dean and Sam. Dean and Sam were both pointing guns at the demon.

"Step away from her" Dean said.

"Or what? You're going to shoot me? You know those bullets won't do me any harm" the demon retorted gleefully.

"These may not hurt you, but this will."

Dean pulled out another gun with a longer nozzle and pointed it at the demon. This time the demon looked slightly alarmed.

"You wouldn't dare kill an innocent woman just so you can get me."

"If it saves my sister, then I will."

As soon as Dean cocked the pistol, there was an ear piercing scream and the entire gymnasium was filled up with black smoke. But as soon as it started, it was gone. Paige looked up in time to see Miss Barlow's body fall to the floor. Sam rushed to her, trying to feel her pulse.

"She's alive, but we need to get her to the hospital."

* * *

After they got Miss Barlow admitted to the hospital, they went back to the motel where Sam and Dean had been staying. Sam explained that the previous night, they had seen a car follow them back to the motel. When they saw the same car parked outside the gymnasium, they knew something was wrong. He concluded that the demon may have been possessing Miss Barlow's body for a couple of months. Dean explained that it wasn't the first time the demon had tried to use someone they cared about as bait to lure them into a trap.

That night Paige stayed back at the motel not knowing if it was safe to return to her dorm room. The day's events had changed her life forever. She knew now that she could never go back to Stanford. Could never g back to her parents. Could never go back to Rosewood. Everyone who she cared about was now in danger simply because they knew her.

Unlocking her phone, she looked at all the texts that Emily had sent her. She slowly typed out a response, knowing that when Emily would see it, it would break her heart. But it had to be done. Emily couldn't be a part of her life anymore. It wasn't safe.

 _'I need space.'_

She stared at the message she had typed, willing herself to send it but not being able to.

"It hurts kid. I know that." Dean spoke up. "Leaving behind people you care about, it's hard. But it's for the best. It'll hurt even more when something happens to them and you're the cause for it"

That's all Paige needed to hear to convince her. She pressed send.

* * *

That was three years ago. She disconnected her number. Left Stanford. Basically disappeared overnight. Never looking back. She had read a brief article about 'A' being someone named Charles DiLaurentis and that he had been caught. She had wanted to call Emily and ask her how she was but couldn't. Emily was finally safe. If Paige returned to her life she wouldn't be. No she had to stay away.

And so here she was, driving half way across the country to Nebraska in search of a Wendigo with her brothers. Hoping that someday, no matter when, no matter how, when this was all over, maybe, just maybe she could find her way back to Emily.


End file.
